CALPADS and Charter Schools Data Reporting Policy

This page contains the data reporting policy that charter schools should follow using CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA.

The California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) is the foundation of California's K-12 education data system that allows for tracking a student's academic performance over time. This page is part of the California Department of Education (CDE) CALPADS Web Portal.

The charter school reports data directly to CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA, independent of its authorizing agency, or:

The charter school's authorizing agency reports the charter school data directly to CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA.

The charter school's reporting method will be the same for both CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA. Reporting status does not impact or have any association with the charter school funding type.

There is no default charter school reporting status (independent or reporting through the authorizing agency). A new charter school must inform the California Department of Education (CDE) of its reporting status within 30 days of the charter school's effective date. This reporting status must stay in effect for at least that reporting year (July 1 through June 30).

A charter school that has the State Board of Education as its authorizing agency is considered an independently-reporting charter school.

Charter schools and authorizing agencies should consider the connection between their CALPADS reporting option and their testing option when selecting their CALPADS reporting option. For example, direct funded charter schools should consider submitting data directly to CALPADS as they would then be able to view their student assessment data for California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) testing. We have found this reduces confusion and simplifies the reporting processes. Discussing options with your local educational agency (LEA) CAASPP Coordinator is strongly recommended to understand the implications.

Definitions

Independently-Reporting Charter School – An independently-reporting charter school elects to obtain and maintain Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs) for all enrolling and exiting students. The independently-reporting charter school is responsible for:

Charter School Electing to Report through its Authorizing Agency – This is a charter school that designates its authorizing agency as the party responsible for meeting CALPADS reporting and certification requirements. Depending on local implementation, the authorizing agency may either provide the charter school with the ability to submit data directly to CALPADS, or the district may retain the ability to do this work for the charter school. The district is ultimately responsible for certifying charter school data. The charter school also elects to have its authorizing agency report aggregate data through CBEDS-ORA on its behalf.

Authorizing Agency – An authorizing agency is the agency that has authorized the charter school.

CBEDS-ORA – CBEDS-ORA is a CDE Internet-based application, requiring authorizing agencies or independently-reporting charter schools to report aggregate student, teacher, and school data in specified formats, and within specified time frames.

Responsibilities for Authorizing Agencies when Reporting Charter School Data

Charter schools may elect to have their authorizing agencies report CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA data on their behalf. Authorizing agencies will be responsible for:

Obtaining and maintaining Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs) in CALPADS for all enrolling and exiting students

Charter schools electing this option are strongly encouraged to have open dialogue with their authorizing agencies about local practices, procedures, and data system logistics to ensure that the authorizing agencies can report the charter school data as well as meet the CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA reporting requirements, including the certification of data by published deadlines.

Assistance is Available

California School Information Services (CSIS) successfully assists authorizing agencies and charter schools with local data submission decisions. CSIS is available to work with all authorizing agencies and charter schools to help local administrators make decisions and meet reporting requirements and deadlines.

Responsibilities for Charter Schools Reporting their Own Data

Charter schools may elect to report CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA data independently from their authorizing agencies. Charter schools choosing this reporting method will be responsible for:

Obtaining and maintaining Statewide Student Identifiers (SSIDs) in CALPADS for all enrolling and exiting students

Charter School Reporting Status and Administration of Statewide Assessments

As a best practice, a charter school should align its reporting status with the conducting of statewide assessments. For example, a charter school reporting data independently to CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA should also conduct statewide assessments independently from its authorizing agency.

Any charter school, regardless of its CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA reporting status, may conduct assessments through its authorizing agency or independently from its authorizing agency.

Consequences for Failure to Certify Data by Published Deadlines

Enrollment counts for all local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools, are used for funding purposes, and these counts will be derived from CALPADS data. In previous years, for charter schools that failed to meet state reporting deadlines, the responsibilities of reporting and other associated work reverted back to their authorizing agencies. As of Fall 2009, this policy has changed, and charter schools that choose to report independently will be accountable for reporting data within the published timelines. These independently-reporting charter schools acting as LEAs for the purposes of CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA reporting are required to meet state and federal laws for reporting data. As with all non-charter public schools, independently-reporting charter schools that fail to meet published reporting deadlines may end up with annual enrollment counts of zero, resulting in losses of funding based on the annual enrollment counts.

Annual Time Period for Changing Reporting Status

Charter school administrators may change the reporting statuses for existing charters one time each year. This annual period during which charter schools may change their CALPADS and CBEDS reporting statuses for the following academic year occurs in June. Charter school administrators will receive notification prior to the annual window, with instructions regarding changing their charter school reporting statuses.

New charter schools are asked to designate their reporting statuses at the time that they apply for their county-district-school (CDS) code.

CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA Data Submission: Reporting Methods

The CALPADS and CBEDS-ORA Data Submission Web application contains access to information about given schools' current methods of data submission (i.e., the schools' reporting statuses).

Reporting Requirements
— and Other Resources

From the CALPADS Web page, users can find links to important information about CALPADS reporting requirements, system documentation, and listserv opportunities. There are CALPADS enrollment procedures that all LEAs and independently-reporting charter schools should follow. Some subjects in these procedures include:

The CALPADS File Specifications (CFS) and the CALPADS Code Sets are available within the CALPADS System Documentation. Notification of the availability of other system documentation is provided to those who are subscribed to the CALPADS-LEA listserv. Learn about joining CALPADS listservs.

Charter School Reporting Status Change Form

To obtain a copy of the Charter School Reporting Status Change Form, click on the link below, or contact the CALPADS/CBEDS/CDS Operations Office using the contact information at the bottom of this Web page.